Dave Cornthwaite
Amongst other things he has paddleboarded the length of the Mississippi, skateboarded across Australia, swum 1001 miles, written three books, stayed awake for 72 hours in a row without turning crazy, and for years has tried in vain to get Nutella to sponsor his adventures. But will he give up? Never!
Meet the team involved in the Swim1000 Missouri River Expedition this Summer.
This is no ordinary expedition, everyone involved will be paddling 1000 miles alongside Dave as he swims the Lower Missouri, towing and pushing his gear on a raft.
Follow the journey through Facebook, Twitter and on the official website.
Dave Cornthwaite - The Guy in the Water
Dave has tried his hand at many an endurance activity in the past but before deciding on this expedition the furthest distance he had ever swum was from one end of a pool to the other. A 25m pool. Dave will be managing the expedition as well as swimming 1000 miles and is most excited about seeing the world from two inches above the surface for 50 days.
> Meet Dave - Follow him on Twitter
David Zaple - Medical Chief
On the verge of becoming a registered paramedic David can cook to an edible standard and threatens a sense of humour even cornier than the other Dave’s. With a good background in travel David’s experience in both endurance and fundraising events compliment his chosen profession. As the team’s medical specialist his tent will almost certainly bear a red cross.
> Meet David - Follow him on Twitter
Vanessa - Social Media Guru
Well travelled, creative and ready to escape the city, Ness will be heavily involved in marketing, social media, PR and stills photography on the Missouri. A strong background in charitable fundraising and developing sustainable business models for entrepreneurs means she’ll be involved in pulling together the project from all angles.
> Meet Ness - Follow her on Twitter
Ben - Trainer and Nutrition Chief
Just qualified as a personal trainer and with a background in bodybuilding and sports nutrition, Ben’s skills are fastened together by experience in an endurance expedition of his own. In 2008 Ben broke Dave C’s length of Britain skateboarding record at the age of 18. No doubt he’ll be swimming the Missouri in 49 days soon after this expedition!
> Meet Ben
Annabel - Mrs Motivator
Eternally positive, Annabel - or you can call her Annie, Bella (don’t even think about it), or ‘that one’ - is the sense of humour department in the team. Next year she’s planning on rowing across the Pacific Ocean so 1000 miles of paddling will be super practice for her, as will being an integral part of the day-to-day running of the expedition.
> Meet Annabel - Follow her on Twitter
Sarah - Fundraising Boss
If life were a bull Sarah would be holding its horns and riding the blimmin’ thing like you wouldn’t believe. Having spent two years of her early thirties kicking breast cancer out of the park Sarah will be implementing the Expedition’s fundraising strategy, ensuring we raise as much money as possible for breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel!
> Meet Sarah - Follow her on Twitter
Louisa Currie - Mrs Media
Lou will be joining us for the second half of the expedition and will use her experience as a journalist for the BBC to maximise the media coverage an expedition like this deserves. She’s done a bit of filming, too, so keep an eye out for the video blogs!
> Meet Louisa - Follow her on Twitter
Em Bell - Blog Queen
Last but not least is Ms Bell. She was born during an earthquake on a beach in Chile and has barely sat down since. A professional journalist and blogger, you’ll love Em’s writing throughout the journey.
> Meet Em - Follow her on Twitter
And finally, how did Dave convince this merry bank of soon-to-be paddlers to join him? Well, it took one video…
